Cianci Foundation Blasts Biltmore “Graduate” Hotel for Removing Portraits of Former Mayor

Cianci Foundation Blasts Biltmore “Graduate” Hotel for Removing Portraits of Former Mayor

The Cianci Educational Foundation is blasting Graduate Hotel — the new owners of the historic Biltmore Hotel in Providence — for removing portraits of the late Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci in the hotel. 

“We feel this situation is ironic as The Biltmore would be a poorly manicured parking lot today if not for Buddy’s efforts in the 1970s to preserve it,” wrote the Foundation in a Facebook post Wednesday morning.

“The Graduate Hotel can do whatever they like but it is truly sad to see a single complaint from a clearly biased person dictate corporate policy,” wrote the Foundation.

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In April, GoLocal was first on the scene with Graduate Hotels place a new, neon sign on the historic hotel. 

As GoLocal reported:

The historic Biltmore Hotel name is being changed by the Chicago-based hotel group that owns the property to the Graduate Providence.

While new Graduate Hotel signage went up Tuesday, the landmark red light "Biltmore" on the roof will remain for the foreseeable future.

The Biltmore is owned by AJ Capital Partners, which asserts they have "over $2.3 billion gross acquisition value of real estate purchased since inception and more than $1.7 billion gross fair market value currently under asset management.”